First, the log for a quickie evening sail on June 11, 2003
After work I headed over to my boat and quickly got under way. Wind was brisk from the South East around 13 knots. Since I was single handling again, I put in a one reef point in the sail. This was one of the most relaxing sails that I have had since I didn't really try to go anywhere but instead just sailed wherever the wind was good. When I got back to the dock it was almost 8:30 PM and getting dark. I had my running lights and masthead lights on since it was really already after dusk. At the marina I was surprised because it was much busier than usual. People had their coolers and were going out for after dark sails. I have not done this before; I need to give it a try. This was a very relaxing outing.
Second log entry, for June 14, 2003.
I really went over to the boat just to mess around. The forecast was lousy but the weather didn't look as bad as was forecast. So I cast off the lines and off I went. Winds were pretty strong, in the 10 to 15 mph range. Now and then white caps started to build. The wind was south westerly and the tide was going out. So, first I sailed over to Waterside. This was the first time I did this under sail and that was fun. I was surprised how the harbor wasn't very busy (it was extremely busy the other night) - maybe this was due to the bad forecast again. At the Nauticus pier, one of the big Carnival cruise ships was docked.
After seeing Waterside and I decided to sail down the Craney Island reach.I was having just too much fun and didn't want to stop. After getting to the International Marine Piers, I decided to go see the four air craft carriers that were in. I saw the Ronald Regan (CVN-76) (which is being commissioned next week), the Teddy Roosevelt (CVN-71), the Harry S Truman (CVN-75) and the Enterprise (CVN-65). All the navy ships were heavily patrolled by navy gun boats.
I still didn't want to stop so I decided to sail over to Willoughby Bay which I also had not done before. After that I just sailed around the harbor just west of the Hampton Roads bridge tunnel. It was about 4 PM when I decided to head back. I was 9 miles from my slip and it was not good wind for the direction I needed to go so I ended up motoring for about 1.5 hours and then I had to wait because the Coast Guard was escorting the Carnival cruise ship out of the harbor and there was a 500 yard security zone. While I was waiting I realized the wind had shifted to be a bit more favorable for the sail back.
So, I put the sails up and circled until the cruise ship passed. Then I sailed to the Portsmouth Marine Terminal where I took down my sails and motored the last 2 miles back to the slip. It was a long day but very satisfying - I got to work on all of my sailing skills. It was fun and I ended up with a bit of a sunburn.
Here is a picture of the big Carnival cruise ship that was docked at the Nauticus pier heading out. You can see the ODU sailing center on the left.
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